The Boston Red Sox's offensive performance at the beginning of the 2026 season has been rough, to say the least. After encouraging spring training and World Baseball Classic performances, the Red Sox look utterly lost at the plate.
Boston left 30 men on base in its first series against the Cincinnati Reds and batted .172 with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox hoped they'd find their footing against the Houston Astros, but they instead made Lance McCullers look like an All-Star — maybe even a Cy Young winner.
McCullers pitched seven, one-run innings against the Red Sox. He allowed four hits, a walk, struck out nine Boston batters and collected 14 whiffs in his longest outing since 2022. They didn't fare any better after he came out of the game. Marcelo Mayer drew a walk to open the eighth inning, but everyone else went down in order.
McCullers has had an up-and-down career so far, having missed three entire seasons due to injury. He came in seventh place in American League Cy Young voting in 2021 when he posted a 3.16 ERA over 162.1 innings. He started the following season in August after a long injury recovery, but looked even better than the year before, to the tune of a 2.27 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 22 walks in 47.2 innings.
Red Sox's nonexistent offense on March 30 gave Astros' Lance McCullers his longest outing since 2022
In 2023, the right-hander underwent surgery to repair the flexor tendon and remove a bone spur in his arm, and he hasn't looked the same since. He returned to the mound for 55.1 last season and clocked a 6.51 ERA and a 64 ERA+.
Facing the Red Sox may help McCullers get his groove back (unfortunately for Boston). The Red Sox's bats have been overly aggressive in the early goings of the season, and while there's still time for them to find their footing, they should work quickly. As of March 31, Boston ranks 10th in the league with 41 strikeouts, and among the nine teams with more are the Athletics, Angels, Pirates and White Sox.
The Red Sox have put up concerningly few competitive at-bats since their Opening Day win in Cincinnati and Hunter Brown will have no trouble exposing them in game two. Wilyer Abreu can't be the only productive player at the plate for much longer — Boston has to find a way to kick its aggression to force pitchers to give them something to hit so it can get back in the win column.